The 2007 Tony Awards are entering their seventh decade of celebrating Broadway excellence. Sunday from 8 to 11 P.M., broadcast on CBS from Radio City Music Hall, it will be Broadway Live in the theater's premiere black tie event!
From the rousing welcome from the cast of A Chorus Line, entering from Sixth Avenue [as did the cast of the 42nd Street revival on the 2001 telecast] singing "One" onward, there'll be stunning couture gowns and eye-popping jewelry - not to mention clevage.
There'll also be enough smiles to boost Con Ed's output for the summer. But, alas, not everyone will be smiling; for not everyone or every show can be a winner. Of course, each and every one is!
Will it be utopia for a multiple-part epic or an unseasonal frost? Will a seasonal musical have Spring in its step, will it be a walk in the gardens or will the curtains fly?
Even after awards, awards, awards, hopefully, the very strong Actor, Play category will have some suspense.
Will there be the type of jawdropping moment as happened on the Drama Desk Awards when Actress, Musical nominees Audra McDonald and Donna Murphy
tied, and in quite the magical moment, rushed to the stage and into each other's arms?
This is the Tony Awards, which are perceived to be of no interest in the hinterlands unless loaded with TV stars [who may or may not have begun careers on Broadway], and not a show about that other Tony. So, with CBS being ratings conscious and wanting the show stacked with entertainment value, the winners of certain arts categories won't be honored during the network three-hours. Winners in these slots [see below] will be presented pre-show, between 7 and 8 P.M.
With awards shows following awards shows following awards shows, you can be forgiven if you've become a bit jaded and have some preconceived notions. But this is Broadway theater's glittering, premiere event.
There will be no host anchoring the Awards, but rather notable presenters from stage and screen. They include: Matthew Broderick, Zach Braff, Harry Connick, Jr., Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, Brian Dennehy, Harvey Fierstein, Carla Gugino, Marvin Hamlisch, Marcia Gay Harden, Neil Patrick Harris, Anne Heche, Marg Helgenberger, Judd Hirsch and Felicity Huffman.
Also announced to do the honors are: Eddie Izzard, John Kander, Jane Krakowski, Angela Lansbury, Robert Sean Leonard, Patti LuPone, John Mahoney, Audra McDonald, Bebe Neuwirth, Cynthia Nixon, Donny Osmond, Bernadette Peters, David Hyde Pierce, Christopher Plummer, Liev Schreiber, Kevin Spacey, John Turturro, Usher, Sam Waterston, Vanessa Williams and Ben Vereen.
Appearing as an ensemble will be the cast of the 2006 Tony-winning Best Musical, Jersey Boys: Christian Hoff, Daniel Reichard, J. Robert Spencer and John Lloyd Young.
Having the Tonys on national TV is a huge marketing tool for Broadway. When the musical numbers from shows are presented, there's a spike at box offices. It will have to be a big spike to cover the $200,000 + charged by the Awards, but shows still-running seem to feel it's worth the gamble.
The 2007 Tonys will feature production numbers from Musical nominees Curtains, Grey Gardens, Mary Poppins and Spring Awakening. In addition to the number form ACL, there'll be performances by the casts of Musical, Revival nominees Company and 110 in the Shade. In addition, following her rave reviews as the new Celie in The Color Purple, Fantasia will present a number from the show.
CBS closely adheres to the bottom line, so seven categories -Scenic Design, Play and Musical; Costume Design, Play and Musical; Lighting Design, Play and Musical; and Orchestrations - will be presented in a pre-broadcast segment. Winners will be recapped on the broadcast, but to watch this portion of the Awards segment live be tuned in to http://www.tonyawards.com/.
This is CBS' 30th year carrying the Tonys, and no other commercial network would probably have been as loyal, especially in this age of competition from cable and video games, and in the face of ratings that aren't blockbuster.
Former long-time network president and CEO Peter Lund, a huge theater fan, felt CBS' fit with the Tonys was an integral part of the network's identity as the "Tiffany" network. Current [since 1998] CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves, who happens to be a former actor and for 11 years a Broadway GM, feels the same.
"The Tony Awards, which are the embodiment of live theater in America," says Moonves, "have a rich tradition on CBS. We're delighted this spectacular show is again on our network. The Tonys represent what we represent, the best quality entertainment."
On the Tony web site, hosted by IBM with feature content from Playbill, you can enjoy a video player link for up close and personal encounters with winners; access to their acceptance speeches and their thoughts on the impact of winning a Tony; an archive of nominees and winners in every category from 1947; Tony trivia; and a detailed profile of the fascinating Miss Perry, among other things, a pioneer for women producers on Broadway.
The Tonys are presented by the American Theatre Wing and the League of American Theatres and Producers. At the Wing, Sondra Gilman is chairman; Douglas Leeds, president; and Howard Sherman is executive director. Shubert Org president Gerald Schoenfeld is chairman and Charlotte St. Martin is executive director of the League. Award-winning Broadway producer Elizabeth I. McCann is Awards managing producer and Joey Parnes coordinating producer.
Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss/White Cherry Entertainment are executive producers of the 2007 Tony Awards, with Weiss also directing.
Long-time sponsors VISA, IBM and Continental, the offiical airline of the Tonys, return.
Official partners of the Tonys include Sprint and Hilton Hotels. The official Awards web site, www.TonyAwards.com, is developed, designed, and hosted by IBM. Feature content is provided in cooperation with Playbill.com.
Have You Voted? Mark Your Ballot
The 2008 American Theatre Wing Tony Awards nominations are:
Highlights ~
For a complete roster of the 2007 Tony Award nominations and special awards, go to: www.tonyawards.com/.
[Photos: 1, 3, 7,14 and 16 ) PAUL KOLNIK 2, 4 - 9, 12, 13, 15, 17 and 18) JOAN MARCUS; 10) LORENZO AGIUS; 11) ELLIS NASSOUR]
Down Tony Awards Memory Lane
Who Was This Tony, Rather Toni,
The Namesake Of The Tony Tony Awards?
Toni was the nickname of beautiful Denver actress Antoinette Perry, who, after several years playing ingÈnues on Broadway, turned to producing and directing in an era when women in the theater were relegated to acting, costume design, or choreography. The success of the same named home permanent product that was the subject of a huge media blitz caused her to change the i to a y. When she decided to move from acting and become a producer and director, she became a theatrical trailblazer for women.
Amazingly, well into the 70s, Miss Perry was the only woman director with a track record of hits. Today, she's all but forgotten. In her prime, she showed innovative theatrical instincts and scored an enviable roster of hits - producing and often directing 17 plays in 13 years. In one month in 1937, according to her daughter Margaret, Miss Perry directed and produced three productions, "once rehearsing in our Fifth Avenue living room while peeling peaches for preserves."
Among her impressive hits were Personal Appearance [1934] and Claire Boothe's Kiss the Boys Goodbye [1938], a spoof of the search for Scarlett O'Hara for the film adaptation of Gone with the Wind. The latter had a stellar cast, including Benay Venuta, a perennial star of stage and screen [who died in 1995].
"Tony was rather a theatrical pioneer," said Miss Venuta, "in that she made a huge impact as a producer and director in an era of male theatrical powerbrokers. She was successful and success either earns you envy or respect. In Tony's case, it was both, but I never heard her criticized on the basis of being a woman."
A Tony Awards Photo Gallery
in honor of the 61st Annual Tony Awards
Clockwise : 1967: The first Tony Awards national telecast - Alexander H. Cohen, telecast and Broadway producer[left], [his wife] Awards writer Hildy Parks and director Clark Jones in ABC's mobile studio in Shubert Alley; 1967: Barbra Steisand, Joe Masteroff [left], John Kander and Fred Ebb pose in the Sardi's press room. Streisand presented Tonys to the composers for Cabaret; 1972: Richard Rodgers and Ethel Merman are honored with special Tonys after showstopping performances; 1995: Cherry Jones wins Actress, Play for The Heiress; and 1996, when the hostess with the mostest was Angela Lansbury. Trivia
The Award:Early awards to honor Antoinette Perry by making her the namesake of best in theater awards were engraved ladies' compact and cigarette cases. In 1949 a contest was held to select a special design. Herman Rosse won with a silver medallion that, on one side, features the masks of comedy and tragedy and, on the other, a profile of Miss Perry. Initially, they were presented in felt cases. Later, they were mounted on a swivel stand.
DO YOU KNOW:
1. What now famous composer was rehearsal pianist for the original production of Styne/Sondheim/Laurents Gypsy?
A. Cy Coleman
B. Jerry Herman
D. Frederick Loewe
E. Charles Strouse
2. Which of these one-word play titles took Best Play Tony Awards?
A. Art
B. Closer
C. Copenhagen
D. Da
E. Equus
F. Seascape
G. Tru
3. Which of these one-word musical titles took Best Musical Tony Awards? A. Candide B. Carnival! C. Fiorello! D. Gypsy E. Jamaica F. Mame G. Redhead 4. Which actresses tied for the coveted Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1968? A. Barbara Harris, The Apple Tree; and Mary Martin, I Do! I Do! B. Julie Harris, Skyscraper; and Angela Lansbury, Mame C. Angela Lansbury, Dear World; and Dorothy Loudon, The Fig Leaves Are Falling D. Mary Martin, The Sound of Music; and Ethel Merman, Gypsy E. Patricia Routledge, Darling of the Day; and Leslie Uggams, Hallelujah, Baby! 5. In 2003, Vanessa Redgrave in Long Day's Journey Into Night became one of a handful of actresses to have won a Tony, an Emmy and an Oscar. Who else can boast membership in this award trifecta club? A. Patty Duke B. Rita Moreno C. Suzanne Somers D. Joanne Woodward
6. Who is the only Tony to have hosted the Tony Awards since the first national telecast in 1967? A. Tony Bennett B. Tony Curtis C. Tony Martin D. Tony Quinn E. Tony Randall7.
Three sets of family members have been Tony-nominated in the same category in the same year. Which duo below is not correct?A. Tammy Grimes and daughter Amanda Plummer, 1982
B. Rosemary Harris and daughter Jennifer Ehle, 2000
C. Lynn Redgrave and niece Natasha Richardson, 1993
D. Richard Rodgers and daughter Mary Rodgers, 1960
[Answers below]
Tony Memories: Gone but Not Forgotten
by Ellis Nassour
Looking back on four show business legends:
Society and Culture Doyenne: Through Kitty Carlisle Hart's 96 years as the perennial doyenne of New York society, not to mention her career on the concert stage, screen, TV, recordings, in opera niteries, it was said that she best was mingle. And no one mingled better than Miss Hart, widow of legendary writer/producer/director Moss Hart.
Miss Hart was never nominated for a Tony, but many Tony-nominees and winners owe her a debt of gratitude. She was more than wealthy, more than the elegant, bejeweled dress-up who went out on the town literally every night in support of various causes. Her philanthropy and presence helped raise millions for charities and cultural institutions. However, far beyond her lifetime dedication to fundraising, it was her enthusiasm for doing the impossible and bringing awareness to the forefront in the midst of obstacles that makes her someone to remember and cherish.
After 16 seasons on TV games shows, Miss Hart was appointed chair of the New York State Council on the Arts at a time when arts funding was disappearing. It was a job she relished, literally covering every inch of New York State. She got legislators to make a complete turnaround in support of culture. She was no snob. She was a champion of freedom of expression and of Broadway, Off Broadway, Off Off, the Metropolitan Opera, the Metropolitan, MOMA and numerous other museums.
When she met Hart. It was love at first sight -- "for me," she laughed, "but it took a while for Moss to find out what he was ignoring!"
Their marriage, from most accounts in an apartment adorned with paintings by such admirers as George Gershwin, who was an early beau, Irving Berlin and Noel Coward, was a fairy tale one.
In 1961, four years after directing the landmark Lerner and Loewe musical My Fair Lady [for which he won the Tony for Best Director], Mr. Hart collapsed and died of a massive coronary. He was only 57. It was a devastating blow "as Moss was everything to me," said Miss Hart. "Everything!"
Forced to work, she went on TV, where appearnaces on game shows made her a household name. Following 16 seasons, she became to be reckoned with as State Arts chair, a post she held 21 years - stepping down at the age of 85, still going, going, going strong.
"It was a lot of work," she stated, "but worth it! There was no better way to give a child who's in trouble a chance at a new life than to introduce him or her to the arts." She traveled New York State exhaustively, visiting classrooms, museums, theater and dance companies to not only give encouragement but to also discover what they needed."
Miss Hart could move mountains to accomplish great things. In 1998, Miss Hart was named a "living landmark" by the New York Landmarks Conservancy. The next year, saw her induction into the Hall of Fame.
Of her passing on April 17 this year, David Lewis, Miss Hart's longtime musical director, said, "Kitty will be remembered not only as the grande dame of show business but also for her unselfish philanthropy and her support for American musical theater."
Miss Hart will be remembered this Tuesday [June 12] in a star-studded tribute beginning at Noon at the Majestic Theatre. The event is open to the public. Donations in memory of Kitty Carlisle Hart may be made to the Dramatists Guild Fund, 1501 Broadway, New York, NY 10036.
Miss Broadway Pizzazz: The Tony Awards have had many sensational moments. Three that come to mind featured the late Dorothy Loudon, who passed away in November at 70. Two of those were on the same telecast. Miss Loudon had been a major cabaret star and plugged around Broadway for years. She was often side-lined by short-lived musicals, temper tantrums with directors and bouts with alcoholism. She came into her own in the 1973 Broadway revival of The Women.
When she won the Tony for her 1977 comeback role as Miss Hannigan in Annie, she couldn't believe the audience response. By the time of Ballroom, she was adored. [Noises Off, following Angela Lansbury in Sweeney Todd and starring opposite Katherine Hepburn in West Side Waltz came later.]
Miss Loudon was a master comedienne, but capable of great pathos as she displayed on the 1979 telecast as a Best Actress nominee for Ballroom [nominated for Best Musical; oddly, Alan Bergman/Marilyn Bergman/Billy Goldenberg's score wasn't]. She sang her the poignant "Fifty Percent," which had the house in a hush.
The 1983 telecast at the Uris featured an all-star salute to Gershwin [for whom the theatre was renamed at broadcast's end] featuring Ginger Rogers, Jack Lemmon, Diahann Carroll and producer Alexander Cohen's "Tony Awards Repertory Troupe." Miss Loudon was a charter member.
She made her entrance down a long flight of stairs to the music of an onstage pianist. She sported a sequined Royal Blue gown and black boa, accessorized by a sparkling tiara. As she slinked to the piano, she threw the boa onstage and told it "Wait in the car!" Miss Loudon began, in that famous growl of a belt, an obscure Gershwin/Herbert Stohart song from 1925's Song of the Flame, "Vodka," frequently stopping the orchestra for such dialogue as: "Many important people hereÖCould mean a combackÖIn the Russian Tea RoomÖI'm not too good for this dress!ÖI'm too good for this song." By the time she took her bows, plopped on the stage floor, the audience was rolling in the aisles. The applause was thunderous. Backstage, Miss Loudon, still a bit flushed, exclaimed, "I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was on Cloud Nine and could have floated offstage!"
Then there were the twin Loudon showstoppers from 1984's Tony tribute to Broadway's tunesmiths. In yet another tiara, Miss Loudon entered the Gershwin stage in a white gown dotted with rhinestones and a mink-trimmed plunging neckline - it was worthy of Catharine the Great! Standing atop a silver Rolls Royce, she was serenaded by Robert Preston, Tony Randall, Tony Roberts, Robert Guillaume, Larry Kert and a male chorus - all in red riding outfits - with "Mame." Miss Loudon didn't sing, but her ad libs were priceless: "Don't look in your programÖIt's me!ÖJerry, think of me for the sequelÖI was thinking of keeping the gown, but I got one just like it at home so I'm gonna keep the carÖand the boys." Moments later, she brought the house down again with a rendition of "Broadway Baby" from Follies.
[Chris Cohen, son of Alexander Cohen and Hildy Parks, of C&C Visual and producer of Broadway's Lost Treasures, was the stage manager and helped push that Rolls onstage. BLT includes Miss Loudon's "Broadway Baby."]
Miss Loudon, who had a delicious, devilish sense of humor and could be "bawdy" beyond belief, was one of the gals who was just one of the boys. When she died November 14, 2003 she left us as the pure definition of Broadway pizzazz.
The Tap Dance Kid: M-G-M musicals legend Ann Miller of the long-legs, raven-hair actress and machine-gun-style tap dancing won stardom in the golden age of movie musicals and in the hearts of millions, but was never nominated for an Academy Award. However, her showstopping turns in Sugar Babies earned her a 1980 Best Actress Tony Award nomination.
"It was a thrill when [associate producer] John Bowab brought me to Broadway in Mame," said Miss Miller, "but I came in long after my old friend Angela Lansbury. I always considered Sugar Babies my big moment. To be in a show nominated for Best Musical was, well, quite a big deal. And, then, to be nominated!"
Miss Miller had the wardrobe, make-up and hair crew from Sugar Babies to help get her into her Tony mode. That year, the awards were being telecast from the Hellinger, which was where the show ran. Miss Miller's long-time friend, Dolores Gray [whom she'd known since they did 1956's The Opposite Sex, the musical re-make of The Women for MGM], a Tony winner and Broadway belt legend, was in the audience delighted the star.
"In the year of Barnum and Evita, I didn't have high hopes for our show," admitted Miss Miller, "or myself, being in the running with Patti Lupone. As they say in Hollywood, it was a thrill just to be nominated! And really it was - especially for something I loved doing all my life - tap dancing. What made it more wonderful was being recognized by Broadway!"
Miss Miller died January 22, 2004.
The Understudy Gets the Nomination: Larry Kert of West Side Story fame [who, amazingly, has never been induced into the Theatre Hall of Fame], wasn't nominated for a Tony for his performance as Tony in WSS. However, he holds the distinction of being the only cast replacement to be Tony-nominated -for Best Actor, Musical for his performance in the original Company.
He won that distinct honor over opening night star Dean Jones, who a little over two weeks following the opening and after recording the cast album, announced he was leaving due to illness. He was very depressed as a result of a bitter divorce from his wife of 17 years and found a show about hard-edged, unromantic relationships too painful.
It was contended that not enough members of the Tony Awards Nominating Committee were able to catch Jones, whose reviews as Bobby could have established him as a Broadway star. But they had plenty of time to see Kert.
"It was a crowing glory moment," said Kert. "We never understood what the thinking was when neither Carol [Lawrence] or I got nominated for West Side Story. I mean, we were the leads in a hot, now, ground-breaking musical put together by a trio of theatrical genuises."
When Kert opened in Company on the West End, Columbia Records took him into the studio and had him record all of Bobby's tracks for the London Original Cast album, however, listen closely, and you can hear Jones on the duet harmony takes. On Columbia's re-mastered CD, Kert is featured on a bonus track, singing "Being Alive."
Kert died June 5, 1991, three days after the Tony Awards.
Broadway: the Golden Age on PBS
Perfectly timed to be pre-Tony Awards entertainment, Rick McKay's acclaimed and award-winning documentary Broadway: the Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There will give a repeat performance Sunday [June 10] on WNET/Thirteen at 3 P.M. [Saturday, June 9 at 2:30 on L.A.'s KCET] and PBS stations around the nation. Featured are interviews with over 100 stars.
Broadway: The Golden Age is available on DVD [BMG/SONY, SRP $20] in the full theatrical director's cut [30 minutes longer than the TV edition] with 90 minutes of bonus features, rare footage, a [half-hour] "sneak preview" of the upcoming sequel Broadway: The Next Generation; and a two-hour director's commentary by McKay. To order the DVD or a personalized copy, go to www.broadwaythemovie.com.
Lost Treasures from Broadway
Anyone interested in the archives of great performances from the Tony Awards, including the early shows produced by Broadway impresario Alexander Cohen [through 1986] will enjoy excerpts from those telecasts presented on Broadway's Lost Treasures. Acorn Productions has issued a boxed set of Volumes 1-3 [SRP, $60].
Volume 3, for example, is a motherlode of rare Broadway moments: 23 production numbers, including the company of the lavish revival of 42nd Street ["We're In the Money"], Gwen Verdon performing "Whatever Lola Wants" from Damn Yankees along with, among others, an eight minute tribute to Ethel Merman, a Julie Andrews medley and numbers from Fosse, A Funny Thing..., How Now Dow Jones, Into the Woods, Kiss Me Kate, Peter Pan, Ragtime and West Side Story.
A bonus bonus DVD is a real plus with some rare excerpts from 18 nominated Best Plays featured on Tony telecasts. Performance highlights are by Jane Alexander, Philip Bosco, Art Carney, Charles Dutton, Morgan Freeman, Victor Garber, James Earl Jones, Linda Lavin, John Lithgow, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Gary Sinise and, among others, Maggie Smith.
[Trivia answers: 1. C ; 2. C, D and E; 3. C and G; 4.E; 5. B; 6. E ; 7. A ]
[Photos: 19) Collection of ELLIS NASSOUR/ The New York Times archives; 20 - 24) Collection of ELLIS NASSOUR/CHRISTOPHER LUKAS; The New York Times archives; ABC-TV; JOAN MARCUS; WHERE magazine; 25) Hart Estate; 26) AUBREY REUBEN; 27) Papermill Playhouse; 28) Collection of Ellis Nassour/FRIEDMAN-ABLES ]
Recent Archive :
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
[ STARS ] Drama Desk Honors 2007 Nominees; Celeste Holm and Jane Powell Feted; Dreamgirls On DVD
Monday, May 7, 2007
[ STARS ] Donna Murphy: Singing in a Different Key in LoveMusik
Friday, May 11, 2007
[ STARS ] Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt on 110 in the Shade; Champion Legends Onstage in Deuce; Encores! Salutes Broadway Revues in Stairway to Paradise
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
[ STARS ] Brian Murray's Back as Gaslight Sleuth; Country Star Larry Gatlin Goes Metro; Papal Audiences; Brit Invasion; At the Obies with a Knight and a Nixon; A Few Words from Dame Helen
Monday, May 21, 2007
[ STARS ] 2007 Drama Desk Awards - Utopia 7, Spring 4 As Win Streak Continues, Gasp! A Tie for Actress, Musical; 2007 Tony Nominees' Reception; FutureStage Playwrights; Comedy Every Night
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
[ STARS ] Free Shakespeare; Lunch with the Stars; Judy and Mickey Salute; Florence Henderson Sings; Jerry Orbach Honored; Backstage Divas; Sartre Mixed with Juliette Greco; West Side Story Anniversary; At the Met
Friday, June 8, 2007
[ STARS ] The Tony Awards Enter Seventh Decade Celebrating Broadway Excellence; Have You Voted?; Antoinette Perry, Who?; Tony Memory Lane; Gone but Not Forgotten
Society doyenne, arts and culture champion, philanthropist and star of stage, opera, screen and cabaret Kitty Carlisle Hart will be fondly remembered on Tuesday [June 12] at Noon at the Majestic Theatre. Among those recalling Miss Hart will be Mayor Bloomberg, former Governor Mario Cuomo, MOMA president emerita Agnes Gund, Anne Kaufman Schneider, Shubert Organization chairman Gerald Schoenfeld, Barbara Walters and the Hart children, Christopher and Cathy. Kristin Chenoweth, Michael Feinstein and KT Sullivan will be among those performing with David Lewis, Miss Hart's longtime accompanist. The event is open to the public. Seating will be limited. To guarantee admission, arrive early. -- Ellis Nassour
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The last time I remember reading about a summer of love it was about high-on-Cannabis hippies running around in strange outfits [or nothing at all] flashing the Peace sign [or something else] and professing free love.
When the New York Shakespeare Festival began proclaiming this would be a summer of "Free Love in Central Park," one might have questioned what they had in mind - especially during this 40th Anniversary remembrance of the age of Aquarius. After all, it was Joe Papp, founder of the Public Theatre and the NYSF, who was first to put that "tribal musical" Hair onstage and spark controversy not only with its anti-war theme but also those clothing optional moments.
Then NYSF artistic director Oskar Eustis explained it all: "We're taking a theatrical look at the most powerful healing force humans have: the power of love. We hope to revisit the utopian and joyous impulses of that long ago summer of love! - through the medium of two of Shakespeare's greatest plays." Whew!
The NYSF's summer of "free love" begins with the rallying cry "Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou, Romeo?" as heard in Shakespeare's romantic tragedy about young, star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet and will be followed by the Bard's lyrical comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Performances, of course, take place in the magical setting of Central Park's Delacorte Theatre and are free on a first come/first served basis..
R&J stars Oscar Isaac [Two Gentlemen of Verona, the musical] and two-time Emmy-nominee Lauren Ambrose [TV's Six Feet Under; last season's LCT's Awake and Sing! by Clifford Odets].
The director is OBIE-winning and Tony and Drama Desk-nominee Michael Greif [Rent, Grey Gardens]. He's also an artistic associate at NY Theatre Workshop.
Casting isn't complete for Midsummer Night, but directing will be acclaimed Tony and Drama Desk winner Daniel Sullivan, who last season helmed the Public's scathing DD-nominated Stuff Happens by David Hare.
His Broadway credits include the Pulitzer Prize winning and Tony-nominated Rabbit Hole, the recent Prelude to a Kiss revival and, among numerous others, Sight Unseen; Proof; the Cherry Jones Moon for the Misbegotten; Ah, Wilderness!; The Sisters Rosensweig; Conversations With My Father; The Heidi Chronicles; and the original I'm Not Rappaport. From 1981 to 1997, Mr. Sullivan served as artistic director of Seattle Rep, where he established their New Play Program, developing works by Jon Robin Baitz, Herb Gardner, A.R. Gurney, Arthur Miller and Wendy Wasserstein.
R&J, currently running [weather permitting], hasn't been performed at the Delacorte since 1968. It continues through July 8. MND was last performed in the park in 1991 by Brazil's Teatro do Ornitorrinco in Portugese; the last production in English was in 1983. Performances are August 6 - September 9.
Shakespeare in the Park plays Tuesday - Sunday at 8 P.M. Tickets are free and are available Day Of, two per person, at the Delacorte [enter the Park at West 81st Street or East 79th Street] beginning at 1 P.M.; and at the Public from 1 - 3 P.M.
More Free Shakespeare
If you perform it, they will come - for free Shakespeare. Tim Errickson, A.D. of the award winning Boomerang Theatre Company [now in its ninth season], will have his hardy troupe of actors, minstrels and jesters in Central Park Saturdays and Sundays, beginning June 23, in All's Well That Ends Well.
Performances are at 2 P.M., weather permitting, on the al fresco "stage" inside the Park at West 69th Street. Seating is on the ground or standing, and audiences are invited to picnic before or even sunbathe.
Lunch with the Stars
Drama Desk salutes several Broadway leading men at their June 15 lunch, Men For All Seasons - The Art of Acting in a Show, at 11:45 at Sardi's. Panelists are acclaimed and award-winning actors Michael Cerveris, Ra˙l Esparza and Liev Schreiber and Harry Lennix, currently co-starring in August Wilson's Radio Golf. DD member Elysa Gardner, critic for USA Today, will moderate.
For a unique opportunity to get up close and personal with these DD and Tony-winning or nominated stars and eat salmon, fish or veggies, contact DD president William Wolf at [email protected] or call (212) 787-7020. A limited number of reservations are available for non-members at $45.
Have You Got Rhythm?
Are you ready to relive those great old times before you really got into show business and realized what a "business" it really is? Yes?
Ah, those good ole days, those great old songs! And you can travel back to that time with Jeff Harnar and Shauna Hicks Saturday night at 8 P.M. in Town Hall's I Got Rhythm, a musical and multi-media salute to Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney and all those ab fab "Let's put on a show" kids.
Multi-award-winning cabaret performer Harnar and Broadway's Hicks, also an award-winning cabaret performer, and the I Got Rhythm Orchestra will showcase such classics as "Embraceable You, " "I Wish I Were In Love Again," "But Not For Me," other memorable songs by GeorgeGershwin, Rodgers & Hart, Harold Arlen and Burton Lane and, of course, "I Got Rhythm."
Broadway conductor/arranger Barry Levitt is musical director.Making a guest appearance is the man who knows something about all those classic Garland and Rooney films, Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne, who's also a columnist for the Hollywood Reporter and author of many books on film, including 75 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards.
Garland and Rooney starred together as pals or love interests in 10 lighthearted musicals from 1937 to 1949, which premiered songs that still endure. Their films include Babes in Arms, Strike Up the Band, Girl Crazy, Thousands Cheer, Life Begins for Andy Hardy and Babes on Broadway.
Tickets are $37.50 and $40 and available from TicketMaster.com, (212) 307-4100,or at the Town Hall box office. For more information, go to www.the-townhall-nyc.org.
Upcoming at Town Hall
Town Hall will be presenting the 2006-2007 season finale in Scott Siegel's Broadway By the Year series on June 18 at 8 PM. It will be The Broadway Musicals of 1964, Part II, featuring songs from Hello, Dolly!, What Makes Sammy Run?, Funny Girl, Anyone Can Whistle, High Spirits and, among others, Fiddler on the Roof.
The performers will include Stephanie J. Block [Pirate Queen], Liz Callaway, Joyce Chittick [Pajama Game, Sweet Charity, Wonderful Town], Nightlife Award-winner Scott Coulter, four-time Tony nominee and DD-winner Gregg Edelman, Tony and DD winner Beth Leavel [Drowsy Chaperone], and Tony and DD-nominee David Pittu [LoveMusik] Dan Foster will be directing, with musical direction by Ross Patterson, appearing with his Little Big Band.
Siegel promises there will be no repeats of songs from 2002's Broadway Musicals of 1964, Part 1; and, of course, there will be "unplugged" moments.
Tickets are $40 and $45, available at the Town Hall box office, through TicketMaster, (212) 307-4100, www.ticketmaster.com or at www.the-townhall-nyc.org.
You won't have to wait until next season for more of Siegel's fascinating theatrical history and wry comments. Catch his Summer Broadway Festival, produced in conjuction with Town Hall, featuring A Night at the Operetta [July 16], Broadway's Rising Stars [July 23] and All Singin', All Dancin' [July 30], choregraphed and directed by Noah Racey. Tickets are $35 and $40 and available now as above.
Upcoming at the York
In its first summer Musicals in Mufti series, the DD-winning York Theatre Company [Theatre at Saint Peter's, 54th Street, off Lexington Avenue] will present five performances each of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams' It's a BirdÖIt's a PlaneÖIt's Superman from June 15-17. The musical has a book by David Newman and Robert Benton, who collaborated on the Christopher Reeve Superman films; the American premiere of Strouse and Adams' I and Albert, with book by Jay Presson Allen [Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Tru] from June 29 - July 1; Ernest Kinoy and Walter Marks' rousing Bajour from July 13 - 15; and the rarely performed much less heard of Lerner and Lowe shortlived 1945 musical The Day Before Spring from July 27 - 29.
Tickets are $35 [$20 for students] and available by calling the York box office, (212) 935-5820 or online at www.yorktheatre.org.
Are You In a Brady Frame of Mind?
Join beloved TV legend Florence Henderson at Joe's Pub at 7 or 9:30 P.M. on Monday [June 11] for All The Lives of Me...A Musical Journey, which will feature a guest appearance by Jersey Boys' Christian Hoff. Henderson's journey was quite a journey. She was the youngest of ten children of a Kentucky sharecropper. When her mom discovered she could sing, she had young Flo singing, literally, everywhere and passing the hat so the family could put food on the table. From poverty to NYC, RADA, Broadway and then Hollywood, where everyone eventually knew her name because of a little show that could. Wow! What a story, and from one of show business' most personable artists.
Afterwards, you can join Miss Henderson help raise funds and awareness for LIFEbeat, the Music Industry Fights AIDS, at an event at 10 P.M. at Chinatown Brasserie [380 Lafayette Street at Great Jones, former site of Fez/Time CafÈ].
Fans who know Miss Henderson as America's favorite mom Carol Brady in five seasons on the classic sitcom The Brady Bunch [or numerous TV commercials! And TV guest appearances] may have forgotten that she not only was a popular recording artist but also starred on Broadway in the 50s and 60s in the musicals Wish You Were Here, Fanny and The Girl Who Came to Supper. She had deep friendships with Rodgers and Hammerstein and Noel Coward. Her later career included tours of Oklahoma! and The King and I and the 1967 Lincoln Center revival of South Pacific.
Miss Henderson has more than a passing connection with Hoff. Twenty years ago, she starred in the Just a Regular Kid: An AIDS Story, an ABC Afternoon Special, playing a mom whose son contracted the virus through a blood transfusion. The boy who played her son is now a Tony-winning star on Broadway.
LIFEbeat's AfterParty Series, now in its 15th year, gives a limited number of fans the opportunity to join stars at an official post concert events where they can mingle "and party like a rock star - while making a difference in the fight against AIDS."
Tickets for the Joe's Pub concert, presented in association with r/j Productions, are $25 and available at the Public Theater box office, by phone at (212) 967-7555 and 24/7 at Joe's Pub Tickets. [For dinner reservations, call (212) 539-8778.]
The minimum donation to attend the LIFEbeat AfterParty is $10 in advance/$15 at the door. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.SpinCycleNYC.com.
Jerry Orbach Honored
One of show business' most loved and versatile actors will be honored when on June 21 Stage One of the Snapple Theater Center will be renamed the Jerry Orbach Theatre. The ceremony, hosted by Orbach's widower Elaine Cancilla-Orbach, will be from 5:30 to 8 P.M.
His namesake theatre is fittingly currently housing the revival of Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt's The Fantasticks, in which Orbach was the original El Gallo in 1960 - memorably introducing the now-classic "Try to Remember."
Orbach, who died in December, 2004, went on to become a Tony and DD-winning Broadway star and, as everyone's favorite TV detective Lennie Briscoe, became a household word on the original NBC series Law & Order, created by Dick Wolf, who is personally underwriting the Orbach honor.
The original Chicago and 42nd Street, Promises, Promises, Carnival! and a 1965 revival of Guys and Dolls were among Orbachs starring roles. Prior to The Fantasticks, Orbach made his debut Off Bway in the long-running Threepenny Opera.
Cancilla-Orbach is a veteran of Broadway musicals including Sweet Charity and the original Chicago, where, as standby for Velma Kelly, she first met Orbach.
Stuff Happens [Backstage]
Tom Rowan's The Second Tosca takes place backstage at Opera California during rehearsals for Puccini's imposing, quasi-tragic and dark opera. Director Kevin Newbury describes the play as "part romantic comedy, part ghost story and part juicy soap opera. There are divas, rivals, a controlling maestro, a lurking ëEve Harrington,' even a dog. It's smart, sexy highbrow humor in the spirit of Noel Coward and Moss Hart." And it features music from Puccini, Verdi and others.
TST plays June 8 - July 1 at the 45th Street Theater [354 West 45th Street]. Previews begin June 8th for a June 13th opening.
Cast members include Rachel deBenedet [Adrift in Macao, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Nine], DD-winner and two-time Tony nominee Vivian Reed [Marie Christine, Bubbling Brown Sugar, The High Rollers Social and Pleasure Club], Melissa Picarello [Dog Sees God] , opera singer Eve Gigliotti and Carrington Vilmont [Phantom of the Opera].
Newbury has directed at NYCity Opera, Boston Lyric and Chicago Opera. Producer Sorrel Tomlinson's first production, Dog Sees God, was one of the breakout hits of the 2004 NY International Fringe Festival and went on to an Off Broadway run.
Second Tosca tickets are $18 and can be purchased by calling (212) 868-4444 or at www.thesecondtosca.com.
Help for Katrina Victims
After the Storm, a non-profit film and theatre project, will present two performances of the award-winning musical Once On This Island on June 18 at 5 and 8 P.M. at Playwrights Horizons to benefit and increase awareness to the lives of New Orlenas children affected by Katrina. The performers will be young artists, eight to 18, from Louisiana who have rehearsed the show for two months with theater professionals.
PH is where the Lynn Ahrens/Stephen Flaherty musical premiered in 1990. Directing and choreographing the benefit performances will be Gerry McIntyre, one of the original Broadway cast members. Musical director is Randy Redd.
After the Storm is a 501 (c) 3 foundation offering assistance and support by collecting and channeling donated funds to the community and underwriting projects and relief organizations devoted to the community's youth.
"People say theatre has the power to heal," said Ahrens. "We hope that this production of our show and the efforts of After the Storm will remind all of New Orleans - especially the children -that love, community and the sharing of our stories can help heal hearts and rebuild lives."
Through fund-raising efforts of several Broadway shows, the cast will be flown to New York for a five-day program of rehearsals, master classes, Broadway activities and sightseeing.
Those shows include ACL, Drowsy Chaperone, Spamalot, Spring Awakening, ...Spelling Bee and Wicked with additional support from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Tickets for the 5 P.M. show are $50; for the 8 P.M., $100 [which will include a post-show reception with Ahrens, Flaherty, cast and producing team]. To purchase, call (212) 255-3684 or visit http://www.afterthestormfoundation.org/.
Multi-national Entertainment
Postwar Paris comes to life June 12 - 24 at the Richmond Shepard Theatre [309 East 26th Street] on a bill pairing Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit with Paris CafÈ, a song revue associated with the celebrated Left Bank bohemian icon Juliette GrÈco.
The Sartre is a new translation by Nicholas Wolfson and Richmond Shepard. The star is German actress/singer Micaela Leon, who during her sojourn here, has earned lavish praise for cabaret performances that earned her 2007 Nightlife and MAC Award nominations.
The controversial [but what Sartre play isn't?] No Exit, first performed in occupied Paris in May 1944, centers on an army deserter, narcissistic society woman and a conniving lesbian who are detained in a room - for eternity. GrÈco, one of the stars of the Bohemian crowd of post-WWII France, embodied the disenchantment of French intellectuals in her songs.
Greco was a friend and confidante of Sartre and Left Bank writers and artists and had a tempestuous affair with Miles Davis. Later, involved with 20th Century-Fox studio chief Darryl Zanuck, she was groomed for film stardom.
Tickets are $25 [includes one drink]. For reservations, call (212) 684-2690.
West Side Story Celebrated
The Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim/Jerome Robbins landmark production of West Side Story opened on Broadway in September, 1957. To mark the Tony-winning musical's 50th Anniversary, the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem recently presented an all-student SRO production. Over 15,000 attended the 12 performances at the Roger L. Stevens Center.
In an unprecedented move, Chicago's Ravina Festival has invited the NCSA production for an encore performance on Friday night. More than 3,000 seats have been sold. Because of ticket demand, Ravinia has opened the June 7 dress rehearsal to the public.
The production, with a cast of 46 and a 40-strong orchestra, was reported to be Broadway-caliber. It had an excellent pedigree. Directing was Gerald Freedman, WSS assistant to Robbins and co-director of the 1980 Broadway revival. He's Dean of NCSA's drama department. Musical supervisor was renowned conductor John Mauceri, who worked closely with Bernstein and is now NCSA Chancellor.
The production was a school-wide collaboration, involving the dance, design and production, drama, filmmaking and music departments. Guests of honor were the Bernstein children, Jamie and Alex.
Broadway cast members attending the event included Carol Lawrence [Maria], Mickey Callin [Riff] and Grover Dale [Snowboy]; orchestrator Sid Ramin;; Tony-winning costume designer William Ivey Long; producers Fran and Barry Weissler and reps from the Shubert Organization and Columbia Artists Management.
The production grossed in excess of $940,000 from tickets and the sale of memorabilia, corporate donations and underwriters. After production expenses, the school netted $325,000 for student scholarships.
Among NCSA cast members repeating their roles at Ravina will be Paul Baswell and Jordan Brown [Tony], Kathraine Elkington and Anna Wood [Maria], Jenna Fakhoury [Anita] and Nathaniel Mendez [Bernardo].
Original lithographs by artist Christopher Pullman signed by Freedman, Mauceri, and WSS's Lawrence, Callin, Dale and Ramin are being sold for $1,000, with proceeds benefiting student scholarships.
For the June 7th and 8th Ravina performances, NCSA has a limited number of tickets at $500, with proceeds going toward the school's Arts' Whole School Fund. To purchase, call the Chancellor's office at (336) 770-3201. For remaining Ravina lawn tickets, go to http://www.ravinia.org/. For more on NCSA's production of West Side Story, visit www.ncarts.edu/wss.
Will Everything Be Coming Up Roses for You, For You?
Not if you don't act fast.
Tickets for the special NY City Center Encores! production of Style and Sondheim's Gypsy July 9-20 starring Patti Lupone as, of course, Mama Rose are disappearing quite rapidly.
Laura Benanti will co-star as Louise and three-time Tony- and two-time DD winner Boyd Gaines, returning to musical theater after several drama roles including his much acclaimed performance in Journey's End, will play Herbie. Directing will be the musical's book writer Arthur Laurents.
If you don't want to be left out of what will undoubtedly be one of the most talked about events for a while to come, get thee to the City Center box office, call CityTix at (212) 581-1212 or purchase online at wwwNYCityCenter.org. Tickets are $25-$110. While you're at it, renew your Encores! subscription or purchase one.
Indulge in Impressionism at the Met
For the first time more than 60 celebrated masterpieces once owned by rival brother collectors Robert Sterling Clark, founder of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA, and Stephen Carlton Clark, a former trustee and donor to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, are being exhibited through August 19 at the Met in Impressionist and Early Modern Paintings: The Clark Brothers Collect.
Works include those by 19th-century masters as CÈzanne, Degas, Homer, Matisse, Monet, Picasso, Pissarro, Remington, Renoir, Sargent and Seurat.
The brothers, native New Yorkers, were heirs to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune. Sterling Clark, when he wasn't traveling and breeding racehorses, assembled painting by Impressionist and their American contemporaries. He established the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in 1955. Stephen Clark was actively involved in politics, philanthropic projects and establishing museums, including the New York State Historical Association and the Baseball Hall of Fame, while serving on the board of, among others, the Met and MOMA, where he was board president from 1939 to 1946.
The exhibition, organized by the Clark Institute in collaboration with the Met, is made possible by the Janice H. Levin Fund and The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation with additional support provided by the Gail and Parker Gilbert Fund.
Impressionist and Early Modern Paintings: The Clark Brothers Collect is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue [$65, hardcover; $45, soft] published by the Clark Art Institute and distributed by Yale University Press.
While at the Met, don't miss the recently-opened Greek and Roman Galleries and the costume exhibit Poiret, King of Fashion.
Katharine Hepburn on Acting
Columnist Ward Moorehouse III has compiled interviews of his and those of his father, Ward Moorehouse, a theater columnist and critic in the book Broadway After Dark [Bear Manor Media, SRP $25], which was also the name of the Moorehouse's columns.
The cast of characters the Moorehouses profile include William Gillette, Laurette Taylor, Gloria Swanson, Vanessa Redgrave and various later columns of III from The New York Post. Included is a fascinating excerpt from an interview by Moorehouse Senior with Mary Martin where she talks about work, her travels and her years of wedded bliss to Richard Halliday.
The following, courtesy of Moorehouse III, is an excerpt from a 1995 encounter with the film legend:
"I'm generally taken to be an intellectual," she said as she sat cross-legged in the rear garden of her home in New York's Turtle Bay section, "but I do nothing but go on hunches. When I'm appearing in a play all I do is to do the play ó and rest and eat. I'm always so terrified on opening nights I wish I could be dead drunk through the first performance. I still think it would be a good idea to open plays with a matinee performance and then the poor bloody actor would have less time in which to do a complete freezeÖ
"I've had seven or eight plays in New York. Those first nights, brother! They do get steadily worse. They're terrifying; they're horrifying, honestly. I'd like to own a theater in Brooklyn and just never open on Broadway. ... I'll never forget the first night of The Philadelphia Story. Dear Phil Barry protected me in that playówith the writing, I mean. And on the opening night the Lord came down and helped me get through. During the first performance of As You Like It I felt much easier. In that play I could change things aroundónot the words, but the movement."
Miss Hepburn, wearing an old white sweater, brown gabardine pants and thick-soled shoes, accepted the challenge offered by As You Like It, which gave her first Shakespearean role. She was triumphant.
"I always wanted to play Rosalind and I always knew I was going to do it," she said. I had a good time and learned a lot. Somehow, before trying that play, I often thought that audiences were just sitting out there waiting to lynch me, but Rosalind got me to believing that people had come to the theater to have a good time and that there was great friendliness out front."
Ö "When I was trying to learn Rosalind," she said, "I got to wondering to myself what the hell acting really is. I like to act but I also like to do many things ó to clean a room, to walk, to ride my bike, to play tennis, to fiddle around in this garden. I don't like to do anything unless I really like to do itÖ"
The afternoon sun slanted into Miss Hepburn's garden. Caught in its rays her lean and freckled face took on a curious beauty. [She} lit her second cigarette and chattered on: "Hell, I like seeing plays. Death of a Salesman has been my favorite for sometime. I think Elia Kazan is the best damn director there is. George Cukor is wonderful ó I've been with him a thousand times. I loved working with John Huston on The African Queen and it's always been fun doing pictures with Spencer Tracy. Spence is a great, great actor. He has such simplicity. I respect him and I love him..."
Remembering Kitty Carlisle Hart
Society doyenne, arts and culture champion, philanthropist and star of stage, opera, screen and cabaret Kitty Carlisle Hart will be fondly remembered on Tuesday [June 12] at Noon at the Majestic Theatre. Among those recalling Miss Hart will be Mayor Bloomberg, former Governor Mario Cuomo, MOMA president emerita Agnes Gund, Shubert Organization chairman Gerald Schoenfeld, Anne Kaufman Schneider, Barbara Walters and the Hart children, Christopher and Cathy. Kristin Chenoweth, Michael Feinstein and KT Sullivan will be among those performing with David Lewis, Miss Hart's longtime accompanist. The event is open to the public, but seating will be limited so arrive early.
Remembrance
The public is invited to the 10th Annual Celebration of Their Lives taking place Sunday, June 17 at 7 P.M. at St. Clement's Episcopal Church [423 West 46th Street, between Ninth and Tenth Avenues].
The event is a service of song and meditation remembering and celebrating the lives of those in the theater community who died during the past year. There will be music, readings, a tolling of the names and a signing of a memorial parchment.
[Orbachs photo: JULIE JACOBSON/AP Photo]
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